Afghan War

September 18, 1985

PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN — The Soviet Union ''cannot win'' the war in Afghanistan, former President Richard Nixon said Tuesday. ''The settlement of the Afghan problem must be reached politically,'' he declared. Nixon supports indirect talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The two sides are snagged over laying down a timetable for a withdrawal of Soviet forces. The former president visited Afghan refugees in Peshawar and drove to the border in the Khyber Pass. More than 3 million Afghan refugees have entered Pakistan since the Soviet began military intervention in December, 1979.